I have so many (too many?) favorite artists that I routinely study. I enjoy looking at other artist's work (mainly dead artists whose work is widely celebrated) because I can learn so much from them. Knowing the elements and principles of design is helpful. How do they use value and color, and how do they arrange the shapes in their composition? And then there’s the emotional/spiritual side to the painting. What emotions or impressions are surfacing right now? And why? 

Serge Poliakoff is one master painter that I'm obsessed with. His paintings are so powerful. They make me stop and stare. He uses very clear shapes, and they fit together perfectly like puzzle pieces. There is a playfulness that comes through, yet the weight and power in his work is so compelling. His use of color is very strong with analogous harmonies (red and orange and yellow are next to each other on the color wheel, for instance). I see that his colors look so vibrant, and I wonder how he did that? 

_{(above, Serge's beautiful work in my Pinterest feed)}

He was born on January 8, 1900 in Moscow. He died in Paris in 1969. He was influenced by abstract artists Wassily Kandinsky and Sonia Delaunay for their understanding of color. His work is shown in New York, London, and Sweden. 

I love his work. It makes me want to go and paint! The strong shapes are so pleasing, and the dark valued shapes anchor the others. He has a clear value pattern. In other words, you can easily see the light, medium, and dark values/colors. There is nothing that he hasn't thought through. Each piece sings gloriously. 

Whether you are an artist or a collector reading this, I hope you enjoyed this mini-lesson on a wonderful artist and a little bit of insight into my influences as an artist. If you'd like to keep up with my art journey, you can sign up here to join my email list. 

Thanks for reading! 

~ Heidi